The outbreak of the pandemic in Greece in February 2020 has resulted in significant upheavals in most aspects of consumer behaviour. For the Greek consumer, a face-to-face visit to the physical stores is the number one choice for making their purchases.But the emergence of the coronavirus changed the game almost overnight, as it restricted access to physical stores. Realizing the new needs of consumers and wanting to maintain the strong “bond” between the customers and the shops of the neighborhood, Michalis Sfiktos, Alexandros Theodoridis and Ekin Burak Ozturk started the very successful, as it turned out, venture of Ferto.
The three Startuppers with long experience in both software development and the ecosystem of Startups (Blueground, Taxibeat, etc.) joined forces in 2020, against the challenges of the pandemic and the climate of complete uncertainty for domestic businesses. Focusing on the philosophy of “I shop from my neighborhood”, the Ferto team developed an innovative quick commerce platform, giving a digital step to the small local stores, which before the advent of Ferto were not served by the various delivery platforms. Essentially, Ferto’s platform “brings” the store to the customer’s home, maintaining the traditional “bond” between himself and the neighborhood stores, a relationship that was put at great risk by the onset of the pandemic.
“Ferto exists today to strengthen local stores. The battle for the underdog is part of who we are and what we stand for as a company. Helping businesses compete, succeed and flourish in these fast-changing times is the key problem we’re trying to solve.” , said Michalis Sfiktos CEO and co-founder of Ferto.
Ferto pioneers by offering the opportunity to anyone to receive the products of his choice from the stores he loves and trusts in just a few minutes from the moment of ordering. Supermarkets, grocery stores, pharmacies, liquor stores, kiosks, delicatessen and many other stores “come” to the door of consumers instantly, quickly and safely, as the platform leverages an extensive network of cooperating distributors, which guarantee a seamless quick commerce experience.
One of the main advantages of Ferto is the easy-to-use app. The customer downloads the app to his mobile, adds all the necessary details and immediately can choose the store he is interested in and start shopping. Currently, Ferto’s app serves orders in the southern suburbs of Athens and in areas of the center, while the estimated delivery time does not exceed 30 minutes.It is worth noting that the entire software of the platform was designed and developed “in house”, over a period of about six months, with the final result gaining the trust of both customers and investors.
Having received particularly positive messages from consumers in the areas of the southern suburbs, Ferto plans to expand to the center of Athens, while the aim is to make the platform available for all residents of the capital.Ferto’s strong potential is also evidenced by the seed funding completed by the last-mile delivery Startup in less than a year by raising funds of 400,000 euros, in which Plug and Play Ventures, the well-known American VC, based in Silicon Valley, participated, in addition to private investors. In fact, Ferto has announced a new round of funding, which will be completed next summer, which attests to the steady upward trajectory of the three co-founders project, despite the fact that it has only completed a year of life.
Ferto’s plans for the future are not just about geographical expansion in more areas.The company plans to increase the categories of stores, to work with larger chains and to offer a complete last-mile service solution. Another service offered by Ferto is the courier on demand. Through this model, the cooperating stores can employ exclusive distributors to serve direct local deliveries, without entering into the process of their recruitment.